The Polar Kangaroo

I harvested a bunch of fresh chocolate mint and shoved it into a bottle of vodka. 24 hours later, I took it out. I stirred some of this vodka with ice cubes and a wee bit of dry vermouth, and voila! A Polar Kangaroo! A kangaroo is the purist's name for a martini made with vodka instead of gin, and it's polar because of the minty freshness.

A tasty cocktail for those evenings spent telling Commander McBragg stories to your buddies at the Royal Exploration Society Club.

"There I was, surrounded by box jellyfish, with only my trusty diving knife and a few feet of kitchen twine..."

The Gramma Table

In memory of both of my departed grandmothers, I have constructed the Gramma Table. My father-in-law helped by offering advice and an extra pair of hands. He probably prevented some mistakes, injuries and obscenities.

It's bigger than it looks here. It's eight feet long and over two feet wide. It weighs a lot, over 200 pounds to be sure. We've already eaten at this table twice, and it was only finished this morning. This evening's dinner showed that it goes well with beef kebabs, couscous, Mozart quintets and birds. I like it.

Spent Grain Bread and Death

  

I've been lazy, and I haven't had much to say.

My computer at home is broken.

My maternal grandmother died, at the age of 90, on Good Friday.

It makes me frustrated and philosophical.
To shape that frustration into something tangible, I intend to build a table. It will be a big, 8-foot long table for the deck. The kind of table that is meant to be laden with food and surrounded by a big group of people. It will be a fitting memorial to my Grandma, who laid out countless holiday feasts and spent little time sitting down to eat them. Her concern was others' happiness.

My sister and her hubby came down for a visit. We hung out. We ate and drank. That's pretty much it. It was bliss. They brought me some spent grains from a batch of the absolutely sublime Howell at the Moon Stout which my brother-in-law made (with newly increased involvement on the part of my sister). It makes an excellent addition to bread.